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Order Jamie Glazov’s new book, ‘United in Hate: The Left’s Romance with Tyranny, Terror, and Hamas’: HERE.
In using the closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Palm Sunday to promote their narrative, the anti-Zionists expose their own moral bankruptcy.
Not only do they disregard the facts on the ground. They ignore the murder of Christians on the very same day.
On March 29, Israeli police, citing security concerns, prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, from saying Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City. Pizzaballa and Father Francesco Ielpo, head of a Catholic ministry responsible for holy sites, were walking to the church without the usual procession following them.
Israel closed the church, built over the traditional site of Jesus’ tomb, when the war against Iran began Feb. 28. As recently as March 21, eight days before Palm Sunday, the Custody of the Holy Land, the ministry that Ielpo heads, issued a statement expressing cooperation with local authorities in the midst of uncertainty.
“At the present time, it is not possible to make any predictions regarding the celebrations of Holy Week,” the statement read.
“The Custody of the Holy Land remains in constant dialogue with the competent authorities and with the other Churches responsible for the Holy Sepulchre. As soon as clear indications are available regarding the celebrations, official communications will be issued through the institutional channels.”
Apparently, those institutional channels issued no such communications before Pizzaballa and Ielpo walked to the church. Both would have known about the situation and would have had time to make alternate arrangements, even given the site’s deep significance.
Did communications break down between all parties concerned? Did Pizzaballa, who mutes criticism of Palestinian atrocities, seek to create an incident or to embarrass the Israelis? If so, he succeeded.
“This incident is a grave precedent” that “constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure,” the patriarch’s office and the Custody for the Holy Land said in a joint statement, which never mentioned any communication breakdowns or permission to proceed.
“This hasty and fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations, represents an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the Status Quo.”
The Status Quo, which the Ottoman Empire devised when it ruled the area, delineates the responsibilities and worship schedules for each church claiming jurisdiction over the sites. Israel considers it legally binding.
Following the joint statement, near-universal criticism ensued, including from Mike Huckabee, the United States’ ambassador to Israel. Governments with Arab or Muslim majorities accused Israel of systematically persecuting Muslims and Arab Christians.
Meanwhile, North America’s anti-Zionist rage machine kicked into overdrive.
“The Israeli government hates Christians,” Carrie Prejean Boller, the former member of the White House Religious Liberty Commission and a Catholic convert, posted on X.
“This is why Pope Pius XII (cq) said that Jews cannot have sovereignty in the Holy Land,” Patrick Delaney wrote on Facebook. “We need a new Crusade. Enough of this crap.” (Actually, Delaney meant Pius X.)
Of course, such a crusade inevitably would mean killing Jews.
Among those who agreed with Delaney was Michael Hichborn, founder and president of the Lepanto Institute, which promotes traditionalist Catholicism. Hichborn posted about the closing on his Facebook wall.
But the rage machine’s kindling fails to realize that the Roman Catholic Church does not own the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It shares custody with the Armenian Apostolic and Greek Orthodox churches, with the Greeks controlling most of it. Israel, as the governing political power, handles security without claiming ownership.
That responsibility motivated authorities to close religious sites in Jerusalem’s Old City, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Western Wall. Iranian missiles with cluster munitions that have been banned internationally rained shrapnel over several religious sites.
“We know that the Iranians are targeting certain iconic sites and they’re getting Russian satellite intelligence,” Victor Davis Hanson said on his April 2 podcast.
“They have Western-trained people who are pretty accurate in programming their missiles. So if they had hit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher with Catholics inside or Orthodox inside, what would they have said? (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu put them in danger. That’s what they would have said.”
Inflexible rivalry among the religions controlling the church made the situation worse.
“It’s important to note that since the 1990s, bomb shelters have become mandatory in new constructions,” Jonathan Feldstein, an American Israeli, wrote in the Christian Post. “But the Christian denominations that control the Church of the Holy Sepulchre could not come together to create a safe room in the holy site to protect against modern threats.
“In other words, a bomb shelter could have avoided this conflict.”
Vatican and Israeli diplomats, including Netanyahu, resolved the situation within hours. Netanyahu said Pizzaballa would receive “full and immediate access” to the church. Nevertheless, a prominent traditionalist American bishop kept inflaming the anti-Zionist rhetoric.
Bishop Joseph Strickland insinuated that the church’s closing reflected Israel’s alleged persecution of Christians, which he connected with Israel’s campaigns against Hamas and Iran.
“This closure is just one of many consequences of a deeper moral failure,” Strickland said on Tucker Carlson’s program March 31. “We must keep returning to the principle that large-scale destruction of civilian life can never be justified.”
As the interview progressed, Carlson and Strickland unintentionally exposed their utter ignorance about the situation.
When Carlson asked if Strickland expressed skepticism about legitimate safety concerns, the bishop replied, “I really don’t know. Perhaps that’s what some decision-makers believe. But why would it be considered unsafe?”
When Carlson wondered whether Israel had the right to close property it did not own, Strickland consumed the bait heartily.
“I don’t believe that is true authority,” he said. “It reflects a kind of totalitarian mindset: ‘We have the power, so we can do what we want.’ ”
When Carlson asked why Israeli security authorities would view Christian clergy as a threat, Strickland clothed his ignorance in self-righteous victimization.
“Because truth is threatening,” the bishop said.
“Think of Jesus before Pontius Pilate. Pilate asked, ‘What is truth?’ Yet everyone present was threatened by Christ, who is truth incarnate. That same dynamic exists today. Those who promote violence and injustice are threatened by truth. Even a small act of proclaiming truth can awaken consciences. That’s what they fear.”
Perhaps even worse, Strickland called the Israeli Defense Force’s response to Hamas’ massacre of Oct. 7, 2023 “a holocaust of our time.”
Note well that Strickland was not describing Hamas’ savage attack that claimed 1,200 innocent lives and resulted in 250 abductions, with most of the victims dying in captivity after physical and psychological torture. No, he was describing the self-defense campaign of a military that warned Palestinian civilians to evacuate areas in Gaza that Hamas used to hide ammunition and weapons depots, and military communications and command centers.
Strickland’s remarks parallel Pizzaballa’s comments after visiting Gaza on July 22, 2025:
“Christ is not absent from Gaza. He is there — crucified in the wounded, buried under rubble and yet present in every act of mercy, every candle in the darkness, every hand extended to the suffering.”
Neither did Pizzaballa refer to the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.
Such remarks from ostensibly responsible religious authorities are morally obscene. Yet moral obscenity is the anti-Zionists’ stock in trade.
On Palm Sunday in Nigeria, Muslims or their sympathizers allegedly murdered more than 50 Christians. Two traditionalist Catholic outlets, Crisis Magazine and The Remnant, published nothing about it. Another, LifeSite News, posted one article three days after it happened and no follow-up pieces since – not even solicitations for prayer.
All three, however, zealously promote the anti-Zionist narrative.
In describing the attitude of European elites toward Israel, an American Israeli named Ido Singer could well have characterized the Stricklands, Carlsons, Bollers and their ilk.
“It’s easy to grandstand when you think you’re out of range,” Singer wrote on Substack. “The UK, Spain, France, Germany, wagging their fingers at Israel with a full chest. Now we know Iran’s ballistic missiles reach most of Europe. The moral theater gets quieter when the danger is at your door. That’s not a coincidence. That’s cowardice dressed as principle.
“They weren’t operating from morality. They were operating from a safe distance. That distance is gone. The morality was never there.” (emphasis in original)
The brief controversy surrounding the Church of the Holy Sepulchre not only proves that anti-Zionists value property over people. It also proves they value their antisemitic contempt more than the Jewish Messiah whom they proclaim as “king.”
Not stupid – spiritually blind. The love of His people, the Jews, and His land, Israel, is an integral part of who God is. Denying that truth creates a spiritual roadblock to other truths.
actually they are motivated by contempt and malice and envy
ugly individuals, cloaked in their smug righteousness
: Christian roots of anti-Semitism
The teaching of contempt;: Christian roots of anti-Semitism
– January 1, 1964 by JULES. ISAAC
Internationally, Isaac was most well known for his tireless work after the Second World War in the field of Jewish-Christian relations, starting with his book Jésus et Israël, which was written during the war and made him a protagonist in the Seelisberg Conference of 1947, culminating in his decisive key role in the origin of the groundbreaking declaration Nostra Aetate during the Second Vatican Council.[2] In the 1950s, Isaac had an international reputation for his work in Christian and Jewish relations.[3]
Just anti-semites. There is no issue, because they ignore it when others do the same thing and usually worse.
Why would the MSM simplify this anti Israel hype when it’s about safety in war time?
The narrative that anti-Zionism is somehow anti Jewish is false. Many Jews don’t believe in Zionism. They call it sacrilegious and heretical. Israel doesn’t speak for all Jews. There was no such thing as Israel for 1,800 yrs prior to 1948. This isn’t a carbon copy of ancient Israel which was under a divine covenant. Modern Israel is a liberal “secular” democracy with no divine covenant. The founders of the state did not seek to revive biblical Torah observance but rather to establish a secular Jewish homeland.
In Isaiah God states ““Blessed be Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands.” God called Egypt His people. God doesn’t play favorites. God loves everyone, but make no mistake you get no special favors, or “get out of jail” free cards based on your place of origin, skin color, or ethnicity, contrary to what some here believe.
There is no higher clarity than this: to belong to Christ is to be counted as Abraham’s seed. God’s promises to Abraham — including land, blessing, inheritance, and spiritual offspring — are fulfilled not through DNA, but through union with Jesus.
Galatians 3:16 “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”
Nobody gets to Heaven based on their DNA.
beginning of zionism?
psalms 137
4How can we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land
5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand cease to function.
6May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy!…
John 14:6
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The OT was fulfilled in Jesus. You don’t get to Heaven by worshiping a strip of land.
believe what you want….
https://www.breslov.com/bible/Exodus20.htm#3
Shemot 19
1
And G-d spoke all these words, saying:
2
I am HaShem thy G-d, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3
Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
4
Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5
thou shalt not bow down unto them, nor serve them; for I HaShem thy G-d am a jealous G-d, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me;
6
and showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments.
7
I believe God’s word. Just exactly what the inspired word of God says in the Bible.
If you believe someone’s DNA, or place or origin gets you a free pass into Heaven you are not only sadly mistaken, but gravely mistaken.
But, you go ahead and worship a strip of land and I’ll worship the Lord and Savior and we will one day find out who’s correct.
Some things are completely obvious to anyone engaged in world events, especially the Middle East.
Apparently, the bastions of truth, acting as “representatives” of Christianity have zero understanding of the ground-level concerns for the safety of their citizens in Israel The regular use of sirens for Israelis to immediately relocate into bomb shelters is something even very young children are aware of there.
Given Islamist predilections for destroying religious houses of worship, especially on identified holy days, and the ongoing conflict in Israel with the daily notification of incoming missiles, how is it that Christian’s couldn’t figure out the potential for this Christian holy site being deliberately bombed?
Sadly, traditional Catholicism is again becoming a critical source of violent-preaching, anti-semitism.
Why has NONE of the criticism fallen upon those charged with providing the proper security and maintenance for the Holy Sepulchre by building a bomb shelter which they have previously chosen not to do?
Catholics, following a Communist Pope, advancing affiliations with Islam, need to take a look in the mirror! Islamists will use this deviant pope to further their ends and then they will slaughter Christians with impunity and then who will you blame? Oh, that’s right all responsibility will be off-loaded to a”devil-made-us-do-it”. Well, if your devil is running the Vatican, what does that say about its followers?
“Sadly, traditional Catholicism is again becoming a critical source of violent-preaching, anti-semitism.”
instead of remaining their usual covert positions preaching antisemitism
lol
Yes… cluster bombs are an issue…
As of right now… Iran has the leverage and controls this war…
How so?
The Hormuz is still closed. And Trump has blocked the already blocked Hormuz… so we have a double blockade… how silly…
Except… Chinese ships are still getting through… and China has threatened anyone damaging their ships.
So then,,, everyone can put a China flag on their ship and get through??? Who knows?
It is very likely Beijing was putting pressure on Iran to reach a deal:
“Iran has just announced that the Strait of Iran is fully open and ready for full passage.
the Strait of Hormuz is completely open and ready for full passage and business, but the naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran only, until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete.”
” The USA will get all nuclear dust…”
– President Trump, April 17, 2026, 9:06 am
sumsrent big sad due to cognitive dissonance
Yeah, dimstick….Iran has leverage….in what universe? Oh I forgot the same way Russia has leverage
Well Fckwick the strait is now open. A barrel of oil has plunged to under $100 per barrel. The price of gas will follow. And my gold mining stocks are doing well. It’s pretty clear you just want to bitch about Trump yet you know nothing.
You have devolved into a Trump hating Iran loving joke. But then you always were. You bet on the wrong horse because you are so steeped in your own self hatred and basic ignorance. Perhaps you should pull your ass out of that bible and look around. And I am thoroughly enjoying watching you look like the ignorant cuck you truly are. Maybe you should move to Iran. I hear their currency is going to make a comeback in 10 years
It’s difficult to believe someone, who can barely converse in the English language, in this day and age is acting as if it’s still biblical times and we are wandering around with camels by our side.
Ann Coulter says …
“Yay! The Straight that was open before we bombed Iran, is open again. Everybody pretend that this is a huge victory for Trump…”
Iran is reporting… “it’s a conditional and limited reopening… to test… the opposing side… if they renege… they will face dire consequences.”
But…
Mint Press Reports:
Israel has violated the Lebanon ceasefire 8 times on only 30 minutes…
Although Trump said… “Israel is PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough !!!”
Meanwhile… Iran is saying that they never agreed to turning over their enriched Uranium…
And that… “they would attack the Israeli Regime”
…
Iran still controls the Hormuz… and the world’s economy is gonna suffer greatly. It’s gonna catch up…
Ann Coulter is another attention whore addicted to the sound of her own voice and the sight of her words in print. Just like Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson et al.
Joseph…
Ann Coulter was once a devout Trump fan even writing the book “In Trump do we Trust”…
Get this… this isn’t about Ann Coulter… it’s about Trump and Israel wrongly attacking Iran… with the narrative changing several times on the excuse to attack Iran…
While the world’s economy suffers greatly… with Trump making false claims, manipulating the Markets…
The Hormuz is closed again… and Trump can’t dig his way out of this… while Iran has the leverage… and Trump losing this War…
Sumsy, I knew you would be joyous over the re-closure of the strait. Always thinking short term, huh.
I suppose it was better when Iran could still enrich uranium too.
Must be tough not being able to influence anything beyond your chicken farm. Bur I am truly glad you hate Trump. It proves your idiocy
The former Miss California is certainly one of our finest theologians! As for the actual prelates, they apparently have no shame and traffic in hate. Pizzaballa should be given his walking papers. Did he visit the Nova festival site to light candles for the raped and murdered? Of course not.
Many people are, indeed, very ignorant on the subject if Zionism. Some of them actually don’t actually know exactly what Zionism is really is. Therefore, it’s best to define what the words “Zionist” and “Zionism” really mean.
So it needs be made clear that the definition of “Zion and “Zionism” should be explained “The word refers simply to the right of the Jews to settle in their ancestral homeland, , the word ‘Zion,’ …. Is referring to God’s work through the Jewish people…” [1]
For the Bible reveals, that God had given all this land that now composes the State of Israel, including all of the West Bank, to the Jewish people. This may be found in the Bible, as seen in, for example, Genesis 28:13-15. 35:10-12. Deuteronomy 32:48,49. Psalm 105:7-11. 135:4.
In other words, the Jews have tall this land by Divine Right. Furthermore, the Jewish people should have this land by historic rights as shown in First Kings 4:20,21, 24,25. 8:55, 56.
“Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.” Psalm 51:18 [K.J.V.]
[1] Miracle of Israel by Gary Frazier and Jim Fletcher
These prelates need to pick up a history book.
The hatred makes them stupid, and it reveals the level of stupidity they live in.
The basis and reason or justification for the existence of the Church is the replacement of the covenant between haShem and the Jewish people.
(Supersessionism is the Christian belief that the Church has replaced the Jewish people as God’s chosen covenant community, asserting that the New Covenant through Jesus Christ has superseded the Old Covenant. This doctrine has been a significant point of contention in Jewish-Christian relations,
On some level, the living Jew is a testament to the validity of the Torah covenant and more spiritually challenging to those “faith” based on their replacement narratives.
They are blinded by their hatred.
I am a Christian, and only favorable to Zionism in that I prefer the Jews retain control of the Holy Land rather than Muslims. That being said, I’ve noticed the anti-Zionists lie an awful lot about everything. For instance, Tucker says Israel is a completely inconsequential tiny country with a tiny GDP and is of no strategic importance whatsoever, yet somehow they control the entire world including the U.S. government. He is just “asking the question” with that idiotic incredulous look on his face. Maybe he should ask himself how his suppositions make any sense.
interesting comment…..
recently I was looking at the GDP of Israel compared to the more established countries, including USA.
so with a population of less than
10 million people, Israel’s GDP is slightly more than 719 billon
USA, population about 340million (approximately 10 times pop of Israel)
GDP more than 32 trillion ( if I understand that many zeros)
If Israel had the same population, no to mention land mass and natural resources,
so 340 million divided by 10 is equal to 34 (USA has 34 times more population)
multiply 719 million(Israel GDP) by 34 and the projected total OF a similar population would be 34 times 719.85 billion is equal to 24 474 900 000 000….
Is that trillion?
AND Israel spends about 8% of GDP on military, defense probably more than most, if not all countries
TINY Israel ranks 27 on world GDP
…………all because of the people
………………..
oooops
USA has 34 times as many people than Israel…….not 10 times
my mistake
Far right “Christians” and far left Marxists are opposite sides of the same coin. The horseshoe is real.
Of what particular coin are they opposite sides?
CNN reports… Pew Research says… “Net Favorability of Israel” -23 pts… among all adults…
I supported Israel’s response to Gaza after Oct 7th…
But… I don’t support Israel attacking Iran…
Also get this… with all talks about Iran’s 10 point ceasefire… Hamas is never brought up…
Which brings up the question… is Sunni Hamas actually a proxy of Shiite Iran? <<< It doesn't look like it…
Fact stands… Israel is losing American support… across the board… it shows…
Israel First Podcasters are losing ground… MAGA supporters are sinking… TACO Trump is a public humiliation…
Even Poop Leo is more of a hero than Epstien's Island Boy…
Sumsy wumsy. Our Jew Hater on parade. Loyalty is not exactly your strong suit, is it
Wrong Intrepid…
I stand with supporting Israel’s right to exist… but that doesn’t mean I’m going to support every policy decision they make.
Likewise… I voted for Trump over the idiot Kamala… but again… that doesn’t mean I support every thing Trump does…
Also… I don’t support attacking Iran… but on the flip side… I despise satanic islam… all of it.
Do you support Iran’s development of intermediate range and intercontinental ballistic missiles and planned construction of thermonuclear warheads, knowing that the Mahdi mullas who rule that land intend to immolate Israel and the United States in accord with their Koranic dogma? Do you think it was okay that Iran had enough Uranium enriched to 60% that – in a few weeks of further enrichment – it would have, by its own declaration, sufficient fissile material to make 11 nuclear warheads? Do you think that, in 2026 alone, the mullahs in Iran killed 45,000 Iranians to stamp out protest against their rule? At what point does a state sponsor of terror that has been at war with the civilized world for 47 years in pursuit of 14 centuries of Muslim aim to conquer the world become such a threat that preemption is the only rational course of action?
While Christians may hope that the Holy Spirit will enlighten the hearts of the children of Abraham, no true follower of Christ wishes that Israel were ruled by the enemies that surround it. Apparently, some zealots cloaked in Christian apparel find common cause with those who would end the Israeli state, as do some who claim to be Jewish. We cannot know what is in their hearts, but we can evaluate their actions. I believe that those who work to make it harder for Israel to survive must have an animus against Jews, and I know that such animus is wicked.